Phony ‘Physicians Committee’ Wants Americans’ Tax Dollars

WASHINGTON—Flush with $25 million in cash from the ex-wife of NBA franchise owner Leslie Alexander, and angling for more, the animal-rights Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has asked Congress to earmark $1 billion for the promotion of meatless, milkless, and eggless “vegan” diets. In response to PCRM’s March 29 formal request to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican Leader John Boehner, the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF) is urging Congress not to fund PCRM’s misleading campaigns to eliminate all animal products from the American diet.

Ironically—like its long-time affiliate, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA)—the misnamed Physicians Committee and its “Cancer Project” offshoot actually oppose modern cancer research on animal-rights grounds.

“Less than four percent of PCRM’s members are actually physicians,” said David Martosko, CCF’s Director of Research. “Yet these animal rights activists are pretending to be mainstream cancer researchers. And it’s the same vegan ‘Cancer Project’ people who oppose the animal research which might actually cure cancer someday.”

The American Medical Association, which actually represents the mainstream medical profession, has called PCRM a “fringe organization” that uses “unethical tactics” and is “interested in perverting medical science.” PCRM president Neal Barnard, a non-practicing psychiatrist, has also served as president of PETA’s fundraising arm, The PETA Foundation. Barnard has been nominated to the “Animal Rights Hall of Fame,” was a contributing editor of The Animal Agenda magazine, and he has co-signed letters with the president of Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty, a violent anti-medical-research group whose leaders are in federal prison following 2006 terrorism convictions.

Martosko continued: “Tofu is not a cancer cure. Saying otherwise is irresponsible. Hopefully when it comes to health, Congress will seek out the advice of the American Cancer Society or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and not the animal rights movement.”

To learn more about the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, go to www.PhysicianScam.com. For an interview with Mr. Martosko, or for a copy of CCF’s letter to Speaker Pelosi and Leader Boehner, call J.P. Freire at (202) 463-7112.

Founded in 1996, the Center for Consumer Freedom is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization devoted to promoting personal responsibility and protecting consumer choices. For more information, visit ConsumerFreedom.com.